NOW THAT Mayor Kurt L. Schmoke has named the new members of the Baltimore Development Corporation board, it must push hard to find a president for that agency as soon as possible. The mayor and board chairman Roger C. Lipitz deserve commendation for quickly putting together a board that should build confidence within the city's business community. Past boards were dominated by city officials and bureaucrats; this one is not.The private-sector board members include Bruce Alexander and Anthony Hawkins of the Rouse Co,; Elinor Bacon of Bacon & Co.; lawyer Richard Berndt; banker Frank Bramble; S.A. "Skip" Brown III of Belt's Corp.

Whatever the reason for Brenda McKenzie's decision to leave as head of the Baltimore Development Corporation after just two years, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake made a shrewd move by recruiting City Councilman William H. Cole IV to take her place. Ms. McKenzie never fully gelled with the downtown business community that has traditionally been the BDC's chief constituency, but Mr. Cole, who has represented the central business district for two terms on the council, has immediate credibility in that area.

Given that in 2011 Maryland ranked last in job creation and 44 t h in having a business-friendly environment, some response is required. We could start by getting rid of the Baltimore Development Corporation, the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development, and any other public or quasi-public group that has business development in its charter. Think of all the millions of dollars we could save and put to better use, like lowering the personal and corporate tax rates here.

Hundreds of people are planning to protest tonight against a city proposal to provide $107 million in tax increment financing to the Harbor Point development near Harbor East. The protest will begin at 4 p.m. at City Hall before the 5 p.m. work session of the council's taxation committee, which could vote on the deal tonight. Hundreds of clergy members, community activists and union workers plan to rally, according to a news release from the activists. “In its current form the Harbor Point Project is not a good deal for Baltimore,” said Father Joe Muth, pastor of St. Matthew and Blessed Sacrament Roman Catholic Churches.

Kaliope Parthemos, a former social worker and public defender and long-time aide to Baltimore Mayor Stephanie C. Rawlings-Blake, was named Deputy Mayor for Economic and Neighborhood Development Thursday. Kaliope Parthemos, a former social worker and public defender and long-time aide to Baltimore Mayor Stephanie C. Rawlings-Blake, was named Deputy Mayor for Economic and Neighborhood Development Thursday. Parthemos, 39, supervised business and economic development and the city's spending board during Rawlings-Blake's tenure as City Council President.

I had the pleasure of serving on Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake's transition team in February of this year. Recommendation nine of my 10 recommendations, as a member of the Public Safety and Essential Services Committee was, "Downtown Businesses that have been accorded and afforded financial benefits (e.g., financial inducements, tax waivers, and/or deductions, etc.) of various sorts, should, during this financially challenging time, pull their weight as all of us are having to do." One would think that entities such as the Downtown Partnership and the Baltimore Development Corporation would have suggested something similar to this themselves.

Now that it's official and public knowledge that Maryland is last in job creation and only 6th from last (44th) in having a business-friendly environment according to the Tax Foundation, some response is required. Let's get rid of the Baltimore Development Corporation, the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development and any public or quasi-public group in this state that has business development in its charter. Think of all the millions of dollars we could save to put to better use, like lowering the personal and corporate tax rates here.

The Caesars Entertainment-backed group with a license to build a casino in Baltimore will have an additional 30 days to work out the details of a needed legal agreement with the city, Maryland's slots commission said Thursday. The extension means that Caesars and Baltimore officials will have until Nov. 1 to agree on a 50-year land lease and other related contracts that must be signed before construction can be built. Caesars plans to build the gambling palace on city land near the M&T Bank Stadium.

Hundreds of people are planning to protest tonight against a city proposal to provide $107 million in tax increment financing to the Harbor Point development near Harbor East. The protest will begin at 4 p.m. at City Hall before the 5 p.m. work session of the council's taxation committee, which could vote on the deal tonight. Hundreds of clergy members, community activists and union workers plan to rally, according to a news release from the activists. “In its current form the Harbor Point Project is not a good deal for Baltimore,” said Father Joe Muth, pastor of St. Matthew and Blessed Sacrament Roman Catholic Churches.

Baltimore's retail districts have lost tens of thousands of dollars over the past few years due to sloppy accounting by the city, business leaders said at a Monday hearing. Stores, restaurants and other enterprises in the city's 10 designated business districts are required to pay annual fees to the city, which are then disbursed to local merchants' associations. But retail association heads charge that businesses that do not pay the fees — which range from $100 to more than $1,000, based on size — are not penalized.

The next time you're out for a pleasant evening stroll on Lancaster Street in Harbor East, make sure you realize that you're in one of Baltimore's most impoverished neighborhoods. The man in the Armani suit walking out of a green glass office building and passing you by on the tree-lined brick sidewalk: he's a classic example of the working poor. The woman in the elegant dress leaving her black Audi with the restaurant valet: Obviously she can't even afford bus fare. The young couple in the osteria eating confit of rabbit leg with yellow polenta and Umbrian summer truffles: At least on this night they won't go to sleep hungry.

The Caesars Entertainment-backed group with a license to build a casino in Baltimore will have an additional 30 days to work out the details of a needed legal agreement with the city, Maryland's slots commission said Thursday. The extension means that Caesars and Baltimore officials will have until Nov. 1 to agree on a 50-year land lease and other related contracts that must be signed before construction can be built. Caesars plans to build the gambling palace on city land near the M&T Bank Stadium.

Now that M.J. "Jay" Brodiehas officially ended his service as head of the Baltimore Development Corporation, it's time to focus on his yet to be named successor and the economic development challenges he or she will face. This century has led off with a major recession and cutbacks in most government programs. We need to focus on the needs of our most distressed neighborhoods as we move forward, using approaches that make the best use of limited resources. According to the list of requirements the city has laid out for the new BDC head, the new director will be expected not only know about real estate development and the many tools the agency now has in place but must also be able to "plan, direct, coordinate and administer a comprehensive economic development plan with city agencies and partners.

Given that in 2011 Maryland ranked last in job creation and 44 t h in having a business-friendly environment, some response is required. We could start by getting rid of the Baltimore Development Corporation, the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development, and any other public or quasi-public group that has business development in its charter. Think of all the millions of dollars we could save and put to better use, like lowering the personal and corporate tax rates here.

Now that it's official and public knowledge that Maryland is last in job creation and only 6th from last (44th) in having a business-friendly environment according to the Tax Foundation, some response is required. Let's get rid of the Baltimore Development Corporation, the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development and any public or quasi-public group in this state that has business development in its charter. Think of all the millions of dollars we could save to put to better use, like lowering the personal and corporate tax rates here.

Stephanie Rawlings-Blake appears likely to win the Democratic primary for Baltimore mayor with the fewest votes of any successful candidate since at least 1983. She may clear 50 percent of those who went to the polls, but the message the voters sent this election is indifference. Turnout appears to have been a record low, perhaps as little as 20 percent. The city may not have been moved by the untested promise of Mayor Rawlings-Blake's challengers, but it didn't rally fully behind her steady but unimaginative leadership either.

Baltimore sealed a deal yesterday to bring Bank One Corp.'s check-processing operation and at least 400 new jobs over the next four years to the city's east side. The company will move into a 40,200-square-foot facility with a 162-car parking garage that will be built by the state in the 1000 block of E. Fayette St., under the agreement approved yesterday by the city Board of Estimates. The nation's fourth-largest bank holding company chose Baltimore over 84 other cities that were trying to attract the company.

OPTIMISM, AS A result of the naming of Roger C. Lipitz to chair the board of the Baltimore Development Corporation, is certainly in order. But that single appointment will not by itself solve all the problems of that agency.Mr. Lipitz certainly seems the right person to chair the BDC board. He is well respected in the business community, having both built Meredian Healthcare Inc. into a multi-million dollar business and led the University of Maryland Medical System into the private sector.

I am not on Peter Angelos' payroll. We have at most a passing acquaintance. Other than as a skeptical and experience-hardened, cynical observer of all the State Center silliness, I'm not knowledgeable other than its obvious downsides. I'm sure its detail would drive me to distraction were I to delve into what's really afoot. I am, however, intimately familiar with the shameful Superblock fiasco and its lessons. Bryan Dunn, Kevin Macartney, Brian Morrison and Thomas Ventimiglia demonstrate they are not ("Mr.

I had the pleasure of serving on Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake's transition team in February of this year. Recommendation nine of my 10 recommendations, as a member of the Public Safety and Essential Services Committee was, "Downtown Businesses that have been accorded and afforded financial benefits (e.g., financial inducements, tax waivers, and/or deductions, etc.) of various sorts, should, during this financially challenging time, pull their weight as all of us are having to do." One would think that entities such as the Downtown Partnership and the Baltimore Development Corporation would have suggested something similar to this themselves.